Researchers have developed a three-pronged antibody that has the potential to protect monkeys from infection of SHIV -- a form of HIV in the primates, which may in the future pave the way for treatment of humans.
The findings showed that the three-pronged antibody could stop a greater number of HIV strains from infecting cells in the laboratory more potently than natural, single antibodies, because it binds to three different critical sites on HIV.
"Combinations of antibodies that each bind to a distinct site on HIV may best overcome the defences of the virus in the effort to achieve effective antibody-based treatment and prevention," said Anthony S. Fauci, Director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Maryland, US.
"The concept of having a single antibody that binds to three unique sites on HIV is certainly an intriguing approach for investigators to pursue," Fauci added.
The work, published in the journal Science, is a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Paris-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
The three HIV-binding segments of the antibody are based on three individual HIV antibodies, each of which powerfully neutralises many strains of the virus.
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The ability of trispecific antibodies to bind to three independent targets at once could make them a useful prototype for treatments developed not only for HIV but also for other infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancers, the researchers said.
The researchers plan to conduct early phase clinical trials of the "trispecific" antibody in healthy people and in people living with HIV in 2018 in the hope that it could eventually be used for long acting HIV prevention and treatment.
--IANS
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